Xbox Game Pass Adds Halo, Quantum Break In September

Xbox Game Pass is getting an injection of 10 new games this month, including the highly anticipated and recently refined Halo: The Master Chief Collection, as well as Quantum Break. There's a little something for everyone here and, as a reminder, subscribers can play all of them without restriction, as well as the other 100-plus games on the service.

The biggest addition to Game Pass for many Xbox fans is likely Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It's an absolutely massive package and, while it had its issues at launch, the developer this week rolled out a huge quality of life patch. This new patch offers improved visuals for Xbox One X, a new user interface, the squashing of bugs aplenty, dedicated servers for online and the ability to decide which campaigns and multiplayer features from the first four Halo games you want to have installed at any given time. This patch was a long time coming and, now that TMC is on Game Pass, we imagine those improved online lobbies will receive an influx of new players.

Another big offering this month is Remedy's Quantum Break. From the studio that brought us Alan Wake, Quantum Break is another unique offering that mixes a little supernatural flair into a third-person shooting adventure that blends episodic stories with gameplay. It's not a bad time to learn what Remedy is all about, as the studio recently announced the formation of a new team within its ranks that will be responsible for making innovative online games.

The biggest surprise included in this update is Onrush, the recently released class-based driving game. You'll notice I didn't say "racer," because your goal in Onrush is never to reach a finish line. Instead, two teams are dropped onto a map that loops around on itself with a set goal. In one mode you're trying to stay in a highlighted region to earn points, while another mode might task you with outliving your opponents with each player having a set number of lives. The driving is fast and fun, the vehicles have varied abilities, and it's an absolute shame this one went under the radar. If you've got Game Pass, do yourself a favor and at least take it for a spin.

Believe it or not, there are still seven more games included in the September Game Pass update. These include Aven Colony, Shadow Warrior 1, Sky Force Reloaded, Manual Samuel, Snake Pass, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams and Inner Space. You can read up on all of them over on Xbox Wire or, if you're a subscriber, just download them and give them a try.

If you still aren't gaming on Xbox, Microsoft this week announced a new program called All Access. It includes a console, access to Xbox Live Gold and a subscription to Game Pass, all for a monthly fee spread out across the next two years. Something worth checking out.